74 CHAPTER 4 UNDERSTANDINGBUYERBEHAVIOR
No wondertheyhavebecomethetarget of marketingcampaignsso sophisticatedasto
maketheki d-aimedpitchesof yore looklike,well, Mickey Mouse.
Marketers whohadlongignored children nowsystematicallypursu ethem-even
whenthetykesareyears away frombeingableto buytheir products."Ten yearsagoit
was cereal, candy, andtoys. Todayit's also computersandairlinesand hotelsand
banks,"says Julie Halpin, gen eral managerofSaatchi & SaatchiAdvertising's KidCon-
nectionDivision."Alotofpeopleareturningto awholesegmentofthepopulationthey
haven't beentalking tobefore."
Thosebusinessesthat havealways targeted ki ds,such asfast-foodrestaurantsand
toymakers, havesteppedup theirpitches, hoping to re ac h ki dsearlier andbindthe'll
moretightly. Movies,T-shirts,hamburgerwrappers, anddolls areallpartofthecross-
promotionalblitzaimedat convincing kidstospend.The c umulative effectofinitiating
children intoa consumeristethos atanearly age maybeprofound.Askidstakein the
world aroundthem, many of th eircultural encounters-frombookstomoviestoTV-
havebecomelittle more than salespitches. Even their classroomsare filledwith corpo-
ratelogos.Toquoteclinicalps ychologist MaryPipher, "Insteadoftransmittinga sense
ofwhowearean d whatwehold important,today's marketing-drivencultureis instilling
in themthesensethatlittleex ists without a salespitch attachedandth at self-worthis
somethingyoubuy ata shoppingmall."
Somewonderifmarketersarecreating a relationshipwith consumerstoosoo;,and
for allthewrong reasons.Sources: DavidLeonhardt. "HeyKid.BuyThis,"BusinessWeek.June30. 199 7.p.65-67;LarryArmstrong."Pssst!ComeInlo
MyWeb."BllsinessWeek .June30,1997.p. 67;TomMcGee,"GeningInsideKids Heads,"AmericanDemographics,January
199 7,pp. 53 - 59:"Kids These Days,"Ame ricanDemographics,April2000,pp.9-10;JoanRaymond,"KidsJustWannaHave
Fun,"A merican Demographics ,February2000,pp. 5 7- 61.Introduction
Asnoted, manyof theparentsoftoday'skidsare thebaby boomersmarketers havebeen
tracking foroverfortyyears. Primarily, their importanc e is basedontheirgroup'senor-
moussize. Justasimportant, however,is that they have a great dealincommon; somedemo-
graphics, s uchasage, income, andhealth;somesharedc;oncern ssuchascollegefortheir
children, retirement, anddiminishinghealth; an d some behaviors suchasvotingRepubli-
can,eating out, an d buyingexpensivewalking shoes. Nevertheless, theystillremainindi-
vidualswhowere broughtupin aunique family andre tain a personal wayofthinkingand
behaving. Theultimatechallengefacing marketersis to understandthebuyerbothasan
individualandasa memberofsociety so that thebuyer's needsare metbytheproductoffered
bythemarketer.Thepurposeof this chapteristo present a discussionofseveralofthekey
buyerbehaviorsconsideredimportant to marketers.BuyerBehaviorandExchange
As notedin anearlierchapter,therelationshipbetween thebuyer andtheseller existsthrough
a phenomenoncalledamarket exchange.Theexchan gepro cess allowsthepartiestoassess
the relativetrade-offs theymustmaketo satisfy theirrespective needsandwants. Forthe